Across the globe, from the bustling streets of Seattle, Washington, to the scenic landscapes of Cape Town, South Africa, and everywhere in between, artificial intelligence (AI) is playing a pivotal role in the conservation of wildlife and the preservation of biodiversity. This technology is becoming increasingly essential in our efforts to maintain the balance of ecosystems, especially as the United Nations has highlighted the alarming fact that over a million species are at risk of extinction.
World Wildlife Day, celebrated annually on March 3, is an initiative by the United Nations that aims to raise awareness about the critical contributions of wild animals and plants to the planet and to humanity. The theme of this year’s event is clear: our survival is intricately linked to that of wildlife, and vice versa.
Today, we delve into the fascinating world of AI-driven wildlife conservation, featuring some of the most innovative nonprofits and startups leveraging NVIDIA AI technology and accelerated computing to protect natural habitats. These organizations are using cutting-edge solutions to make a difference every day.
### Ai2’s EarthRanger: Building the Largest Elephant Database
In Seattle, the nonprofit AI research institute Ai2 has developed EarthRanger, a comprehensive software platform that aids protected-area managers, ecologists, and wildlife biologists in making informed decisions about wildlife conservation. Whether it’s preventing poaching, identifying sick or injured animals, or studying animal behavior, EarthRanger provides real-time insights.
One of the exciting initiatives by Ai2 involves creating a machine learning model that predicts elephant movements near human-wildlife boundaries. This model, trained using NVIDIA Hopper GPUs in the cloud, aims to prevent conflicts by alerting area managers to guide elephants away from potential dangers. This predictive capability is made possible by EarthRanger’s access to the world’s largest repository of elephant movement data, shared by its users.
EarthRanger’s platform integrates data from various sources, such as camera traps, acoustic sensors, satellites, and radios, to offer a unified view of wildlife, rangers, and infrastructure within protected areas. This capability is deployed in 76 countries and 650 protected areas, including nearly every national park in Africa and several state wildlife departments in the U.S.
### Rouxcel Technology: Safeguarding Rhinos with AI
Rouxcel Technology, a South African startup, has developed an AI-based solution called RhinoWatches. This technology, integrated with EarthRanger, helps monitor the behaviors of endangered black and white rhinos, alerting authorities to any abnormalities in real-time. These abnormalities could include deviations from usual habitats or aggressive interactions with other animals.
With only about 28,000 rhinos left worldwide, down from 500,000 at the start of the 20th century, Rouxcel’s work is vital. The startup has deployed over 1,200 RhinoWatches across more than 40 South African reserves, protecting over 1.2 million acres of rhino habitats. Rouxcel is now expanding its efforts to include pangolins and other species at risk of poaching and human-wildlife conflict.
### OroraTech: Monitoring Wildfires and Poaching
OroraTech, part of the NVIDIA Inception program for innovative startups, uses EarthRanger to offer a wildfire detection and monitoring service. By combining satellite imagery, AI, and data from various sources, OroraTech provides real-time alerts to safeguard wildlife and prevent poaching. Their technologies monitor over 30 million hectares of land, impacting wildlife in regions like Africa and Australia.
OroraTech’s satellites utilize NVIDIA Jetson modules for edge AI and data processing, achieving rapid fire detection and alerting users within minutes. Their AI-based fire-detection pipeline incorporates NVIDIA’s cuDNN library and TensorRT kit, ensuring high-precision fire detections and efficient cloud masking.
### Wildlife Protection Solutions: Preserving Endangered Species
Wildlife Protection Solutions (WPS), an international nonprofit, supports over 250 conservation projects across 50 countries. WPS uses remote cameras equipped with AI models to monitor animals and poachers in real-time, alerting rangers to intervene before any harm occurs. Their technology processes 65,000 photos daily, optimizing AI models with NVIDIA’s accelerated computing.
The WPS tool, available on any device, facilitates remote monitoring and proactive deterrence of threats to wildlife and sensitive areas. It’s a testament to how technology can empower conservation efforts worldwide.
### Conservation X Labs: Harnessing Crowdsourced Images for Biodiversity
Seattle-based Conservation X Labs is dedicated to preventing the sixth mass extinction, a phenomenon driven by both natural and human activities. By utilizing EarthRanger, they have developed Wild Me, an open-source AI solution aiding the conservation research community in wildlife population studies. Wild Me supports over 2,000 researchers globally, analyzing a database of 14 million photos to identify species and expedite research.
Conservation X Labs also developed Sentinel technology, transforming traditional wildlife monitoring tools with AI to provide real-time, data-driven insights through satellite and cellular networks. To date, Sentinel devices have generated 100,000 actionable insights for 80 species, demonstrating the powerful synergy of technology and ecology.
For those interested in exploring how NVIDIA’s technologies bolster conservation initiatives, the upcoming NVIDIA GTC, a global AI conference in San Jose, California, will feature sessions on various topics, including monitoring Antarctic flora, creating digital twins of the Great Barrier Reef, and mitigating urban climate change.
In conclusion, the collaboration of AI technology and dedicated conservation efforts is crucial in our fight to protect the planet’s biodiversity. By employing cutting-edge solutions, we are better equipped to safeguard the intricate web of life that supports us all. As we celebrate World Wildlife Day, let us recognize and support the continuous work of these organizations and the impact they have on preserving our natural world.
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